Index

Wisdom of the Seven Dwarfs

Advertisement

'How can you be happy all of the time?' It's a question that was asked of me recently. I'm not sure what my answer was then, but my answer now is, 'What are my other choices?' I suppose I could be grumpy all of the time, or a little dopey, maybe bashful or sleepy, even sneezy, I suppose.

Advertisement

Heck, I could be like a doctor of sorts too. I could be any of these, or all of them. As a matter of fact I guess I could be all of the seven dwarfs at the same time.

This got me to thinking

If we were to really study the seven dwarfs from the Snow White story, we would see a little of each of them in all of us. Grumpy wasn't really grumpy, he was more of a curmudgeon. He was against change. If it was unfamiliar, Grumpy was against it. A know-it-all naysayer with the disposition of an old boot: tough, craggy and resistant. It's possible Grumpy was that way just to see who liked him enough to put up with him. Whatever the source, Grumpy had a stubborn determination that was invaluable to the rest. We could all use a little stubborn determination.

Bashful wasn't really shy; he was more of a hopeless sentimentalist. He was the first to comment on Snow White's beauty. Whenever Snow White came around, Bashful would blush, twist his beard, bat his eyes and stammer over his words. I think we've all been there, when in the presence of someone we're attracted to.

Sleepy wasn't really sleepy at all. He was just plain relaxed. He worked as hard as the others but never really got wrapped up in getting excited about every little thing. He was as close to stress-free as you will find. Sleepy could teach how to slow down and just relax.

Sneezy didn't sneeze all of the time, just at the worst times. Sneezing was his reaction to nervousness. We all experience some little idiosyncrasy when we're nervous. Sneezing was his; what's yours?

Although Dopey may have seemed like a perfect name, Dopey wasn't really dopey. He was just childlike and silly. I don't think it was dopey to try and steal a second and third kiss from Snow White. I think it was pretty smart. Dopey was a genius when it came to fun and games, something we need to do to stop being so serious all the time. Dopey didn't mind looking silly. He was never afraid to just be himself. I think that's pretty smart.

Doc, I suppose, was the leader, although he would never assume to be the leader or try to force it upon the others. One could always count on Doc's wisdom when it came time to make important decisions. Sometimes Doc didn't give himself enough credit for how wise he really was. I think that's true of all of us. We don't give ourselves the credit we deserve for the wisdom we've accumulated.

Then there's Happy, the eternally positive optimist. Happy was just, well, happy, because he chose to be.

And so should we be. Being happy is a choice, not a result. We can choose to sometimes be grumpy, dopey, sleepy, bashful or even nervous or wise. But in spite of all that happens in our lives, at the end of the day we can still be happy. Especially if we whistle while we work.